Did Hillary refuse to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organization?

posted at 8:01 am on May 8, 2014 by Ed Morrissey

Boko Haram has wreaked havoc in Nigeria and portions of surrounding nations since 2009, when the Nigerian government tried to crack down on their arms-gathering operations. The group of Islamist terrorists had been known for much of that time to have ties to al-Qaeda, both ideological and tactical. Hundreds, perhaps thousands died in terrorist attacks from 2009 to 2013, many of them targeted for their Christianity. And yet, not until November 2013 did the US finally list Boko Haram as a terrorist group.

Why? We should ask Hillary Clinton. Josh Rogin at The Daily Beast reported last night that the State Department was asked repeatedly during her tenure as Secretary of State to add it to their list of terrorist organizations — but refused to do so:

On Wednesday, Clinton said that the abduction of the girls by Boko Haram was “abominable, it’s criminal, it’s an act of terrorism and it really merits the fullest response possible, first and foremost from the government of Nigeria.” Clinton said that as Secretary of State she had numerous meetings with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and had urged the Nigerian government to do more on counterterrorism.

What Clinton didn’t mention was that her own State Department refused to place Boko Haram on the list of foreign terrorist organizations in 2011, after the group bombed the UN headquarters in Abuja. The refusal came despite the urging of the Justice Department, the FBI, the CIA, and over a dozen Senators and Congressmen.

“The one thing she could have done, the one tool she had at her disposal, she didn’t use. And nobody can say she wasn’t urged to do it. It’s gross hypocrisy,” said a former senior U.S. official who was involved in the debate. “The FBI, the CIA, and the Justice Department really wanted Boko Haram designated, they wanted the authorities that would provide to go after them, and they voiced that repeatedly to elected officials.”

In May 2012, then-Justice Department official Lisa Monaco (now at the White House) wrote to the State Department to urge Clinton to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organization. The following month, Gen. Carter Ham, the chief of U.S. Africa Command, said that Boko Haram provided a “safe haven” for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and was likely sharing explosives and funds with the group. And yet, Hillary Clinton’s State Department still declined to place Boko Haram on its official terrorist roster.

Rogin takes care to report this as taking place during Clinton’s tenure, not ordered by Clinton herself. However, it’s difficult to imagine a lower-ranking official at State brushing off demands from the commander of AFRICOM, as well as the CIA and the FBI. The DoJ letter went directly to Clinton, not to a mid-level staffer. Early last year, before Hillary retired, Senate Republicans tried to force State to designate Boko Haram through legislation — efforts that State lobbied against, as Rogin reports. Rogin’s caution aside, it’s clear that the responsibility for this failure rests directly with Hillary Clinton, if not the decision itself.

To quote the Secretary herself, what difference at this point would it have made? Rep. Peter Meehan, who joined other members of Congress in writing “letter after letter” to State since 2011 demanding action on Boko Haram, explains to Rogin that it might be a lot easier to “bring back our girls,” as Hillary Clinton has begun posturing over the last week:

“We lost two years of increased scrutiny. The kind of support that is taking place now would have been in place two years ago,” he said. The designation would have “enhanced the capacity of our agencies to do the work that was necessary. We were very frustrated, it was a long delay.”

So, why did State refuse to act? This sounds … familiar:

“At the time, the sentiment that was expressed by the administration was this was a local grievance and therefore not a threat to the United States or its interests,” he said. “They were saying al Qaeda was on the run and our argument was contrary to that. It has metastasized and it is actually in many ways a growing threat and this is a stark example of that.”

It’s true that not every local grievance requires a State Department designation, but Boko Haram allied itself with al-Qaeda and provided it tactical support, at least. That should have prompted State to act, especially with the consensus within the national-security communities demanding it — repeatedly. Instead, Hillary Clinton refused to act in order to keep up a pretense that “al-Qaeda was on the run.”

Now Hillary wants to fight Boko Haram with hashtags. Too bad she didn’t fight them with real resources when she had the chance.

Investigation first then trial if warranted. Trial first followed by verdict. Verdict first followed by sentance if warranted. That is the order things are done in. Don’t jump to sentancing before the investigation is even complete.

KW64 on May 8, 2014 at 10:34 AM

You are way out there.
No one is getting prosecuted here. All this is a charade to cover up for the fact that they fear a Clinton presidency.

I was a little confused yesterday when I heard her comments at the top of the hour news on the radio. What I mean is, who cares what she thinks of this particular issue, or any other for that matter? She’s not an elected official, holds no appointed office, and isn’t a declared candidate for any office at this time. Of course, that copy said nothing about the shrew refusing to declare them terrorists when it would have meant something. Wonder why that was?

Of course now it makes perfect sense. The media is trying their level best to innoculate the shrew against this clear dereliction of duty (again) during the only job she’s ever held that could possibly qualify her for the white house.

So predictable. Any time leftists try to tell you how wonderful someone is, you must pull up the corner of the rug to figure out what they’ve swept under it.

Keep in mind that The One is only a wannabee ex-Sixties college radical, due to his age. Hillary!! is the real deal.

Remember “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”?

Boko Haram is;

1. Black (genuinely African, in fact)

2. Islamic (therefore anti-Jewish by default)

3. Anti-Christian (therefore anti-Western both by default and their own admission, i.e. their name means “Western education is a sin”)

4. and violent.

By her dogmas, they’re the good guys.

You expect her to denounce them?

Dream on. To her, the only terrorists on Earth are;

A. Israel

B. Law-abiding Americans who own firearms (see above post).

Her major problem isn’t with BH, it’s with the Nigerian government. While it looks the other way on 419 scams and takes graft to allow on the transhipment of everything from heroin to conflict diamonds, it isn’t openly declaring itself as an “eternal enemy of the Great Satan”.

In short, while it is typically anti-Western and anti-American for the region, it isn’t anti-Western and anti-American enough to suit her.

You said that every, as in “every” conservative once knew the term “immanentize the eschaton”, presumably there are other things that every conservative knows.

Since you are the arbiter of all things conservative it would be helpful if you could tell the rest of us what we all know. The list, if you please.

Bishop on May 8, 2014 at 10:23 AM

It’s somewhat amusing I have no idea if the nutcase is actually serious or trying to be trollish. Figures of speech simpleton, look it up. I should have thrown a literally in there, thinking about it. Oh well.

Well I oppose all “terrorist watch lists” so, you’re onto something…

libfreeordie on May 8, 2014 at 10:34 AM

Why? How do you even oppose such thing in practical terms? Do you oppose the federal government classifying domestic and foreign organizations in security terms? What about individuals? Or do you oppose the compilation of the lists? I’ve rarely heard such a weird point of view.

It’s somewhat amusing I have no idea if the nutcase is actually serious or trying to be trollish. Figures of speech simpleton, look it up. I should have thrown a literally in there, thinking about it. Oh well.

Come on dude, you threw out an obscure term and then acted shocked when everyone was like “Uh…what?”

You claimed “every conservative” used to know that term and shame on us for not, you knew exactly what you were saying.

“Terrorists? What terrorists?” has been the Democratic Party’s position since I was a kid.

Sirhan Sirhan wasn’t a terrorist. Just because he was Palestinian and flatly stated he killed Robert F. Kennedy because of his position on Israel didn’t make him a terrorist.

The Iranians holding our people hostage for 444 days weren’t terrorists. They were just protestors. We couldn’t hole the government and people of Iran responsible for it even though they were clearly behind it and supporting it since, after all, we had to deal with protestors here in America, too.

Bill Clinton turned this into an art form. Terrorism was on a rise all through his Administration, but not according to the numbers. WTC bombed, embassies bombed, bombings of Americans in Saudi Arabia, and even ships attacked in port, but no real ‘terrorism.’ The plot for 9/11 even began under Clinton, and was underway when he left office, but no real terrorism. He had it under control. They really nailed that terrorist Timothy McVeigh, and that terrorist group in Waco.

Under Hillary will get a lot more of the same. American officials waving legal papers around trying to serve Muslims committing illegal acts that hurt Americans. But no terrorism to speak of.

Ultimately though, the state department was right. This is a problem with governance and corruption in Nigeria as much as it is the fault of the U.S. Boko Haram is putting enormous pressure on the Nigerian government from it’s citizens, it actually *isn’t* our job to resolve these issues for other nations.

libfreeordie on May 8, 2014 at 8:35 AM

Ok, let me get this straight perfesser….

When the shrew refused to officially call BH a terrorist group, she was doing exactly the right thing according to you….with me so far?

But now, she’s UNofficially calling them a terrorist group, based on them doing pretty much the same things they’ve been doing all along, and she’s STILL doing exactly the right thing???

You leftists are either mentally ill or lying. It can only be one of these 2. Please let me know which one so I have it correct when I tell people why you merit being ignored.

You are way out there.
No one is getting prosecuted here. All this is a charade to cover up for the fact that they fear a Clinton presidency.

weedisgood on May 8, 2014 at 11:01 AM

Yep. 4 brave Americans dead in Benghazi. None of these scumbag heroes of yours lifted a finger to help them. They left them to die horrible deaths. Yep, nothing to see here folks. You should be grateful to those men and women fighting for your freedoms so you can sit here safely in the United States smoking your weed and posting stupid comments. F’ off you loser.

VA scandal and all the dead, just for bonuses
10% of non-obama doners audited…not even part of the hearings, yet
Benghazi, which has a Ben Ghazi too…too complex for you, or too real
Learner’s shenanigans, to which you can add the 10%

You are way out there.
No one is getting prosecuted here. All this is a charade to cover up for the fact that they fear a Clinton presidency.

weedisgood on May 8, 2014 at 11:01 AM

Yeah, that’s it.

All Politics all the time…ALL THE TIME…..

You are the perfect example of a Paid Political operative…

You could give a Rat’s Azz about the Families of those who
were brutally Slaughtered…..hell, you may, in fact be the
“Dude, that was two years ago” guy….

What’s a couple of Dead bodies amongst Political pals, eh?

Hey, if you have a girlfriend, ex girlfrined, ex-lover..
just cajole them into your vehicle, and head for the nearest
low Lying bridge in a resort town near you….but whatever
you do, you better make damn sure you KNOW HOW TO SWIM.

Hillary’s State Department REFUSED to place Boko Haram on the list of foreign terrorist organizations in 2011, after the group bombed the UN headquarters in Abuja. The refusal came despite the urging of the Justice Department, the FBI, the CIA, and over a dozen Senators and Congressmen.

The evidence of Obama…and Hillary…being Islamic Sympathisers, litterally aiding and abetting TERRORISTS / Enemies of the State’ is extremely well documented:

1. FAST & FURIOUS:
Obama’s administration arms Mexican Drug Cartels, giving them hundreds of automatic weapons and grenades, resulting in the deaths of over 300 people (and counting) to include a U.S. citizen/BPA.

2. Providing Weapons to Al Qaeda (9/11/01 TERRORISTS & terrorists who had been hiring Jihadists out of Libya to go to Afghanistan and Iraq to KILL AMERICAN TROOPS) in their war against Qadaffi…

3. Ordering our military to HELP fight FOR Al Qaeda (9/11/01 TERRORISTS & terrorists who had been hiring Jihadists out of Libya to go to Afghanistan and Iraq to KILL AMERICAN TROOPS) to help them take over their own nation (Libya)

4. ‘Running Guns’ out of Benghazi to Islamic Jihadists in Syria

5. Helping the Muslim Brotherhood (TERRORIST Group) to take over Egypt…and halting military weapons shipments to the Egyptian military after they took over their country in order to stop their country from being run by TERRORISTS.

6. Calling the TERRORIST ATTACK by Major Hassan, the self-proclaimed ‘Soldier of Allah’ who threatened to cut the heads off of fellow officers if they did not convert to Islam before perpetrating the Ft. Hood TERRORIST ATTACK, a case of ‘Workplace Violence’!

7. Benghazi – Refusing to provide the additional security Ambassador Stevens BEGGED for after 2 previous terrorist attacks prior to the final attack that took his and 3 other Americans’ lives….covering it up…lying to the American people.

And now THIS!

‘WAR on WOMEN’?! You might as well say that Hillary Clinton (& the Democratic Party) aided and abetted Boko Harem perpetrate this heinous crime and refused to protect women in this ‘war’! Just like what she did to all the women her husband raped, harassed, and had affairs with for decades, I almost expected Hillary to blame these girls and protect ‘the man’.

Hillary’s and Obama’s actions have been both criminal and treasonous, demonstrating NOTHING is more important to them than their own power, money, & agendas.

Hey, if you have a girlfriend, ex girlfrined, ex-lover..
just cajole them into your vehicle, and head for the nearest
low Lying bridge in a resort town near you….but whatever
you do, you better make damn sure you KNOW HOW TO SWIM.

VA scandal and all the dead, just for bonuses
10% of non-obama doners audited…not even part of the hearings, yet
Benghazi, which has a Ben Ghazi too…too complex for you, or too real
Learner’s shenanigans, to which you can add the 10%

obama only won in 2008. He is illegitimate after 2012.

Schadenfreude on May 8, 2014 at 11:12 AM

Hey! Don’t you know this is all about saving Killary’s hide for 2016. First time in my memory that an individual can be a United States Senator and SecState and leave zero in the way of fingerprints on anything- yet- have the nattering nabobs speak of her depth of experience. Throw in her time as First Lady where she’s most noted for putting on a pink dress and standing by her serial rapist husband and you’ve really got to wonder what these people see in her other than the clearest shot to get a birth canal elected to the Presidency. Just 16 years ago, women in the Oval Office were treated like a humidor and now they see the shot of attaining a first! Nothing else matters than gender.

I think rather than worry about Ms. Clinton, conservatives should be crafting a candidate and a plan to counter the further destruction of liberty and civil rights in the country which would result from a Clinton presidency.

If such a watch list could have prevented the 2001 9/11 attacks, would you have approved of it then?

And before answering, remember that ringleader Mohammed Atta and his closest colleague spent the night of 9/10 in Portland, Maine, before boarding a connector flight to Boston the next morning. As they passed thru “security”, one of the gate agents was immediately suspicious of them, but let them thru because of PC. They have haunted him ever since.

In Israel, El Al airlines profiles 100% of their passengers. Is their resulting safety record just a “coincidence” in your world?

Ultimately though, the state department was right. This is a problem with governance and corruption in Nigeria as much as it is the fault of the U.S. Boko Haram is putting enormous pressure on the Nigerian government from it’s citizens, it actually *isn’t* our job to resolve these issues for other nations.

Ya – no kiddin.
Everyone is uptight about some girls in Nigeria, while we have kids being kidnapped in this country – by government agencies – just because of differing diagnoses/opinions from a couple doctors.
It’s nuts.
I think the militias should be heading for Massachusetts.

LOL. Actually, IIRC, Buckley’s slogan was Don’t immanentize the eschanton, which is a significantly different sentiment.

Why would Buckley want to encourage people to try to bring about a socialist utopia?

AZCoyote on May 8, 2014 at 12:15 PM

I know what the slogan was. I was the one bringing it up. Voegelin’s phrase is “immanentize the eschaton” and that’s what he asked me about:

You said that every, as in “every” conservative once knew the term “immanentize the eschaton”, presumably there are other things that every conservative knows.

Bishop on May 8, 2014 at 10:23 AM

Here’s my original comment:

They have a quasi-nihilistic and over-emotional view on the political process and share with Marxists, liberals and other leftists the view that politics isn’t about settling for the lesser evil and gradualism, as conservatives purpose, but about immanentizing the eschanton.

Of course she did! Her and hubby Billy Clinton saw the smoke from the first world trade center bombing and then made it even easier for the 9/11 terrorists to enter the country, stay here, get funds for operations and training and set the stage for Bush to get the bombig on his watch.

No excuse for Bush either…….but the stage was set long before he came to the white house.